Report: Freed Taliban commander vows to return to war against US

posted by Chuck Ross
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2 years ago

The deepest concerns of critics of President Obama’s decision to release five Taliban commanders from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl may be coming to fruition.

One of the commanders, Noorullah Noori, has plans to return to Afghanistan to resume fighting against the U.S., according to NBC News which spoke to another Taliban commander.

“After arriving in Qatar, Noorullah Noori kept insisting he would go to Afghanistan and fight American forces there,” the commander told NBC News.

Last Saturday, Obama announced the release of Mohammad Fazl, Mohammed Nabi, Khairullah Khairkhwa, Abdul Haq Wasiq and Noori in exchange for Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban in eastern Afghanistan after he disappeared from his Army platoon on June 30, 2009.

Some members of Congress blasted the deal, saying they feared that the five Taliban would take up where they left off in their fight against the U.S. Others think that the exchange was a bad deal for the U.S. given reports that Bergdahl deserted his unit.

Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio called the exchange “very troubling,” and said that the deal “may endanger American lives.” Other lawmakers expressed similar reservations over the risk for future violence as well as Obama’s failure to notify them of the planned exchange.